In the Superboy comic books of nearly five decades ago, I would read of the Man of Steel as a boy and wonder why the writers never had him playing high school football or baseball or any sport. Then when I would read the Superman comics, I would imagine what it would be like for the son of Krypton to play for the Razorbacks, Packers, Yankees or Celtics.

At that tender age of between eight and 13, I, of course, didn't consider that such a story line would be unlikely since the Boy (or Man) of Steel would be, to say the least, the most dominate force any sport has ever seen.

Well, that storyline has now come to be in the form of a man by the name of Eldrick Tont. Who, you say, is that? Well, that's his "Clark Kent" name. It's on his birth certificate and possibly some of the people when he was growing up called him that.

But early on, it became clear that he was special. And when I say early on, I mean he was exhibiting his special talent on a national stage when he was just two years old.

Many of you know who I'm talking about now, but just in case you don't, I'll go on.

There are some similarities between Eldrick and Superman today. The Man of Steel is thought to be a perpetual 30-35 years old while our star in question is now 32.

Superman is about 6-3 and impervious to bullets, trains, fire, etc. and "plays" through pain, so to speak.

ET, on the other hand, is 6-1 and while not impervious to the aforementioned bullets, trains, fire, etc. gives new meaning to the phrase "playing through pain." This was never more evident than on the days of Thursday through Monday, June 12-16 when one of the most amazing feat in sports was thrust upon the world.

For the uninitiated, the event I'm talking about is the U.S. Open and the man I've been referring to is, of course, Eldrick Tont Woods or Tiger as he's more commonly known. What he did at Torrey Pines in San Diego that weekend and beyond will be the thing of legends for years and decades to come.

Playing with a torn anterior cruciate ligament or ACL as well as a double stress fracture in his left leg, he defeated Rocco Mediate in a sudden death playoff Monday afternoon. This came after four days of regulation play and a one round play-off had ended with the two players still tied. To say the win just on the surface would be fair, but considering what Woods was going through at the time, makes the victory almost mythical.

Consider these facts:

* Woods had been playing the whole season with the ACL injury. In that time, he won 9 of 12 events he played in including two Majors.

* Two weeks ago, to add to his pain, it was discovered that he had tow stress fractures in his left leg.

* To win at Torrey Pines he had to walk the 7607 yard course (4.4 miles) for five days in a row, plus the sudden death playoff, plus any other walking he did in that time. Conservatively, over those five days he walked for some 30 miles on a leg virtually every other person in the world would have already had in a cast.

Amazing.

Stories of such courage against pain are nothing new, especially in sports. Coaches talk about "playing through pain" all the time. But some athletes take it to new heights.

Like 1996 Olympian Kerri Strug who did a vault on one good ankle then had to be carried to the podium by her coach to receive her medal.

Like Los Angeles Ram Jack Youngblood who played an entire post season, including a Super Bowl loss to Pittsburg in 1980 sporting a fractured left fibula.

There are others, but these come to mind immediately. But overall, to me, incidents like this tell me something………athletes, at all levels, are better conditioned to take and work through pain than non-athletes.

And I submit they are because of their training and the way they, and their coaches, strive to be the best they can possibly be.

"It's because of the money" some might say in disagreement. I say that money is a poor salve for real pain. In fact, even though the money is enormous, money is not the reason most athletes compete. Tiger, for sure, doesn't need the money more and Strug had nothing on the line, but an Olympic medal.

No, people who play individual and team sports beyond just a year, even if they aren't starters, learn valuable lessons about endurance and going beyond what they think they can handle. Some, the Tigers, Strugs and Youngbloods, for physiological reasons, will handle pain better than others. But every current or former athlete who endured two-a-days in football or running the bleachers in basketball as well as the pain associated with both are the better for it.

To me, it's just another example of the benefit sports, any kind of sports, are in a child's life and how it prepares them for the future as an adult.

And that's my opinion this week, for what it's worth.